Video Game Controller

ABSTRACT

Improvements relating to a control device for controlling a display of a computer system for use with a video game.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 USC 120 of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/021,611 filed Jan. 16, 2008, entitled “Video Game Controller.” The entire disclosure of the aforementioned provisional application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a control device for a video game, and more particularly to controllers for use by a player of a “first person shooter” type of video game.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As computers have become a part of every day life, video games playable on computers have similarly become a very popular means of entertainment. While software and computer graphics innovations have made video games very realistic, most video games rely on more contemporary input devices such as a keyboard, computer mouse or joystick to allow a player to interact with the video game. While these traditional input devices are familiar to most users, they tend to take away from the realism of the video game and are not easy/intuitive in their operation.

My prior PCT application PCT/US04/41396 filed Dec. 9, 2004, and published as WO/2005/058434 and incorporated herein by reference, discloses an improved game controller.

The present application discloses further improvements to a controller of the type known by my prior PCT application, which improvements add to the realism of the environment being controlled by the controller, such as a video game.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate a block diagram and first and second embodiments of a particular form/shape for a control device as shown device as shown in my prior PCT application PCT/US04/41396, which establish an environment useful for carrying out the improvements of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of one embodiment of an improvement to a controller of the type shown by FIGS. 1-3, which, improvement provides for sensing a “roll” movement of the body of the controller.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of an audio headset of the type useful with a controller such as shown by FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective side view of one embodiment of an improvement to a controller of the type shown by FIGS. 1-3, which, improvement provides audio speakers mounted to the body of the controller.

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective side view of one embodiment of an improvement to a controller of the type shown by FIGS. 1-3, which, improvement provides an audio microphone mounted to the body of the controller.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate left and right side views of one embodiment of an improvement to a controller of the type shown by FIGS. 1-3, which provides a secondary “add-on” attachment to the controller so that it has redundant movement and function controls.

FIG. 10 illustrates a side view of one embodiment of an improvement to a controller of the type shown by FIGS. 1-3, which, improvement provides an additional/auxiliary display mounted to the body of the controller.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a control device particularly well suited for use by a player of a “first person shooter” type of video game. In such video games, the player typically is presented with a first person view of an environment in the video game and in order to play the game, the user is required to aim at and shoot various targets. The user is commonly provided with a fixed point of view, typically, in the center of the display. The point of view of the user in the game typically moves left, right, up, down, etc. based on the input from the computer mouse, keyboard, etc. to allow the user to aim at various targets in the video game. Targeting or aiming is typically accomplished by positioning the center of the fixed point of view at the desired position, generally using the computer mouse or keyboard or gamepad controls to change the point of view of the user in the video game. Shooting the target is typically accomplished by pressing a dedicated shoot button. The dedicated shoot button is typically one of the mouse buttons or a key on the keyboard or gamepad. Similarly, joysticks may also be used to change the point of view of the user in the game, and shooting is typically accomplished by pressing a shoot button, generally located on the top of the joystick or on a base of the joystick.

The control device of the present invention can quickly change the point of view of the user by simply moving the control device, thereby providing a more intuitive and realistic interaction with the video game.

While the control device of the present invention is particularly well suited for use in such video games, the control device is preferably operable with any video game and may be used as a mouse-type pointing or control device in conventional computer and/or video graphic display applications as well.

In addition, the control device of the present invention is preferably compatible with video game systems such as the SONY PLAYSTATION, a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Similarly, the control device may be utilized with other computer simulations and virtual reality systems such as those commonly used by law enforcement and military agencies as training aids.

More specifically, a control device according of the present invention is described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, which illustrate a block diagram and first and second embodiments of a particular form/shape for a control device as shown in my prior PCT application PCT/US04/41396, which establish an environment useful for carrying out the improvements of the present invention, which are described in FIGS. 4-9

Referring first to FIG. 1, a coordinate control unit 12 is used to input information regarding the desired horizontal and vertical point of view of the user in the video game. More specifically, the coordinate control unit 12 may be used to provide information related to pitch, the vertical tilt, and yaw, the horizontal tilt, of the control device to indicate the desired horizontal and vertical point of view of the display of the computer system. An optional mouse-type control unit 14 provides traditional computer mouse button input information, such as to mimic left and right mouse keys. A game play control unit 16 provides additional conventional game play input information. Controller 18 receives information from the coordinate control unit 12, mouse control unit 14 and game play control unit 16 and provides game play information to the computer system. In this manner, the control device of the present application includes substantially all of the functionality required to play today's advanced video games.

As disclosed in my above-noted PCT application PCT/US04/41396, the control device is preferably shaped as a firearm, which preferred shape is described further with reference to FIG. 2. As shown therein, the control device includes a hand grip 20 positioned below a rear section of a central body 22. A trigger 24 extends down from the central body 22 in front of the hand grip 20. A barrel 26 extends forward from the central body 22. An adjustable fore grip 28 may extend downward from the barrel 26 in front of the trigger. For increased reality, the control device may include a removable stock 29, which can be used to steady the control device 10 against the user's shoulder. This will increase stability of the control device. The control device may also be configured as a pistol, another firearm, a pointer or the like. While a firearm is the desired shape of the control device, other shapes may be used, and the invention is not limited to that shape.

The game play control unit 16 preferably includes game play controls and is illustrated in FIG. 1. Game play controls include controls for inputting information related to other aspects of the video game, for example, character movement in space in the video game, also referred to as longitudinal and lateral movement. Referring again to FIGS. 2& 3, a hat switch 50 and/or a directional switch 51 are preferably used to control the lateral and longitudinal movement of a character in the game. While the hat switch 50 and the directional switch 51 may both be used to control lateral movement, they function in a slightly different manner. The hat switch 50 typically includes four momentary contact switches with a pad mounted over them. Each momentary contact switch is activated when the user presses down on the section of the pad that is over the respective momentary contact switch. Typically, only one momentary contact switch may be activated at a time, that is, input from more than one momentary contact switch is generally ignored. The directional switch 51, however, typically allows input regarding motion in two directions at the same time. The direction switch 51 preferably includes four independent contact switches 51 a, 51 b, 51 c, 51 d, generally in a diamond shaped configuration. Each of the independent contact switches 51 a, 51 b, 51 c, 51 d typically is used to provide for movement in a particular direction in the video game. Unlike the hat switch 50, users are generally able to activate more than one of the contact switches at the same time. More specifically, most video games will allow for movement in the right and forward direction at the same time, for example. The result is diagonal movement in the video game. For example, conventional video games will allow such movement when the keyboard is used as the control device. The independent contact switches 51 a, 51 b, 51 c, 51 d of the directional switch 51 may mimic such control from the keyboard. This allows a user of the video game to move the character forward, backward, left, right and diagonally in space in the video game environment. In addition, where the user uses the hat switch 50 for longitudinal and lateral movement in the vide game, for example, the direction switch 51 may be used for other functions which increases the flexibility of the control device. Alternatively, where the direction switch 51 is used longitudinal and lateral movement in the video game, for example, the hat switch 50 may be used for other functions.

In addition, game play controls may include a jump button 52, a run button 53, a crouch button 54 and a special action button 55. These game play controls may be positioned on a side surface of the hand grip 20 of the control device such that they are easily operated by the thumb of the user as it wraps around the hand grip (See FIG. 3). Shoot buttons 56 and 56 a may also be considered a game play control. Naturally, different games may have different game play options, and thus, it is impossible to list all possible game play controls, however, the control device of the present application is intended to be compatible with most every video game.

The coordinate control unit 12 of FIG. 1 may be implemented using a gyroscope 40 (see FIG. 3) or other motion sensing devices, such as a an accelerometer. The gyroscope 40, may be mounted on or in the control device. A solid state gyroscope may be utilized to determine the pitch and yaw of the control device 10 in the present application.

A coordinate activation button 57, shown in FIG. 3, is preferably included in the game play control unit 16. The activation button 57 activates the input of information from the coordinate control unit 12 while depressed. That is, ordinarily the information from the coordinate control unit is not used to control the display of the computer system. In this manner, inadvertent jostling or movement of the control device 10 by the user is not used to alter the point of view of the user in the video. The user depresses the activation button 57 when they wish to change the point of view. Generally, this operation is intuitive to the user in that the user depresses a button when he or she desires to change the display of the computer system and otherwise inadvertent movements do not affect the display of the computer screen. In this manner, a user can reposition the control device for comfort without changing the point of view of the user in the computer game. Alternatively, the activation button 57 may be used as a kill button, that is, the information from the coordinate control unit 12 is utilized to control the display normally, unless the kill button is depressed. This is slightly less intuitive for a user, however, it sill provides a way for the user to adjust his or her position or grip without affecting the display of the computer system when necessary. In addition, the activation button 57 may be a lever type switch positioned on the rear, front or side of the hand grip 20 that is positioned above the trigger.

In the present embodiment a lever type switch 58 as shown in FIG. 2, may be included to provide input when pressure is applied. The lever type switch 58 may be positioned on the rear of the hand grip 20 such that it can be easily activated by the hand of the user gripping the hand grip. The lever type switch may also be positioned on a front side of the hand grip 20 on the lower portion below the trigger 24. The lever type switch 58 is preferably utilized as the coordinate activation button 57. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the button 57 described above may be used to control another function.

In accordance with a first improvement described herein and shown in FIG. 4, a motion sensor is added inside the body of the controller so as to sense movements in the roll axis of the controller, and in response to such sensing, supply control signals which will control movement of the user in the video game, that is, control movement of the user's avatar (which may be just a weapon or other object that the avatar is positioning).

This improvement allows the player, in one embodiment, to roll the gun-shaped controller along the midline axis of the length of the barrel, as opposed to movements in the pitch and yaw axes required for aiming in the virtual space. The roll axis motion would be sensed by use of an accelerometer or gyroscope, or similar motion detection device. Such roll control signal might be used to reproduce a “lean” input which is utilized in some games, or for adding a “peeking around corners” functionality which is also utilized in some games. This functionality might be usable only when the player/avatar is against a wall or a corner in the virtual world. This input might be such that the controller needs to be kept past a certain roll angle in order to keep the function active in the game, or it might be that once the roll function is engaged, it stays active until the player cancels it by, for example, rolling the controller strongly to an opposite extreme, so that in a neutral stance the avatar is still leaning until cancelled.

Alternatively, in another embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the amount or degree of roll of the avatar can be correlated to the amount or degree of roll of the controller.

In another embodiment of this aspect of the invention, in lieu of a gyroscope or accelerometer, specialized switches could be affixed to the controller, to intuitively input the desired stance of the avatar, such as a toggle or rocker switch mounted perpendicular to the body of the controller, in which a downward push would indicate a given amount of leftward lean, while an upward push would indicate a rightward lean.

In accordance with a second improvement described herein and shown in FIG. 5, an improved audio headset is provided. To simplify communication between players in multi-player games, audio control game commands which usually require game pad or keyboard input could be routed to a user wearable headset which also encompasses a tradition ear phone and microphone. Such prior art keyboard input to control in-game audio actions is usually complicated (for example, some games have up to 11 separate audio options), as the player is already overloaded by keystroke requirements for other in-game action, and thus, by putting these in-game control input switches into an intuitive headset, it is more likely that players will utilize these advanced game functions. The intuitive headset may have multiple input switches for controlling various in-game commands, depending on the games' requirements, such as one switch to initiate a broadcast mode for the users audio to the user's entire team (so called “team say”, or to specify individual “channels”, where the user's audio is directed to a particular player or players (such as your partner) or to everyone playing the game. In addition, or alternatively to a headset mounted microphone, a so called “throat mike” or lapel worn microphone with a similar set of in-game input switches could be utilized for the same purpose as the headset mounted switches noted above.

It is noted that the intuitive headset will require not only the ordinary microphone output and speaker input signals to be conducted between the headset and the game controller, but for this improvement, the headset will also need a data line connection to the game controller for transmitting to the controller the auxiliary switch information. In one embodiment, this data line connection can be provided by a USB connection, which would allow bidirectional control of data signals between the headset and the game controller, so that it may even be possible for the game computer to program the headset in order to control the functionality of the headset mounted switches.

In accordance with a third improvement described herein and shown in FIG. 6, audio speakers are mounted on the body of the controller. In the prior art, as the controller, such as one having a gun shape, is wielded by the player, the ensuing movements, such as rotation, quickly diminishes the effect of positional speakers which are conventionally placed at a static position in the room, such as on a desk where the game computer/console is located. Such diminishing of positional information as could be gleaned from the audio portion of a video game is particularly unfortunate, since sound is often an important element in game play. As such, it would be advantageous to mount one, and preferably two, small directional speakers on the body of the controller itself, thus enabling stereo or positional audio clues to emanate from a fixed place in front of the player, that is, the controller itself, as the controller is typically held in a set manner relative to the player's head. Input to the speakers could be provided by way of a standard stereo jack, or a wireless link, from the game computer or game console.

In accordance with a fourth improvement described herein and shown in FIG. 7, a microphone is mounted on the body of the controller. In the prior art, as the controller, such as one having a gun shape, is wielded by the player during game operation, the ensuing rotation may quickly diminishes the audible effect and effectiveness of a microphone placed the desktop or elsewhere in the room where the game is being played, resulting in a real disadvantage in games where the ability to communicate is an important element in game play. As such, it would be advantageous to mount a small microphone in the body of the controller itself, thus helping to ensure adequate reception of the player's speech from a fixed place in front of the player, that is, from the controller itself. Such improvement is particularly useful when the controller has the gun-shape as shown in the FIG, since such shape establishes a known relative position between the player and the controller during use; that is, it will always be held in a set manner relative to the player's head (i.e., held in front of the players head so as to aid aiming. Audio output could be provided by way of a standard audio jack and wire connection, or a wireless link, from the controller to the game computer or game console.

In accordance with a fifth improvement (not specifically shown in the drawings), a software anti-piracy circuit/technique is built into the controller. In the prior art, in order to help ensure that the copy of a game being played is a legal copy, that is, it is not pirated, security key, commonly called a “dongle” has been used. A dongle is a small piece of hardware that connects to a computer. Electrically, dongles mostly appear as two-interface security tokens with transient data flow that does not collide with the dongle function and a pull communication that reads security data from the dongle. The usual function of a dongle is to authenticate a piece of software. Without the dongle, the software will run only in a restricted mode, or not at all. One currently popular dongle form is a USB based electronic circuit, which a user attaches to their computer, and is shipped with retail office software.

Typical anti piracy techniques used in games played on personal computers often involves the computer periodically polling software media (such as a CD) to check that a licensed version of the game CD is in the computer's drive, which many players find annoying, in that the CD drive becomes “conscripted” to the game, together with the psychological issue of the player being made to feel that he is a criminal until proven innocent by constantly providing the legitimate CD. A big advantage of the present invention, that is, by having a controller based anti piracy dongle, is that by definition, the controller needs to be plugged into the computer to play the game in any case, so there is no added annoyance of having the game poll for the appropriate controller, and therefore no feeling of “criminalization.”

An alternative embodiment for including an anti-piracy dongle in the controller, requires the player to press input switches mounted on the controller in a specific order, thereby forming a “security key code”, in order to unlock the game software. The security key code input to the computer playing the software must come from the controller. The game itself will check for a correct match. The security key code input may be as simple as requiring the player to input a simultaneous keystroke using switches mounted on the controller, which keystrokes would be impossible using a mouse and keyboard or gamepad, or the key code may require input from an additional add-on to the controller, such as a second or third LCD, or auxiliary weapon attachment, etc. Such keys might be specific to the owner of the controller, and games may not play fully if the controller input sequence is not correct. Normally, the way a retail game operates, the player installs the game and then the game asks for a text input, usually a long series of numbers found inside the manual that came with the game. One way people “crack” a games' antipiracy technology is to develop a “key generator” program, which generates a workable series of text which is then input when the pirated copy of the game asks for the key.

However, when in accordance with the present invention where the controller is used to input the “key” via a specific operation of controls on the controller, the game could avoid having any text input box at all. For example, when the game starts, the player may find themselves in an empty room. The game would ask the player to perform a correct sequence of moves (forward/backward, crouch, etc) to unlock the game. That sequence might be specific to that individual controller/game combination. Alternatively, it might be combined with the dongle technology mentioned above.

In accordance with a sixth improvement (not specifically shown in the drawings), the existing motion sensor, or an additional motion sensor which is independent from the existing motion sensor, is mounted to the body of the controller so as to sense specific movements of the controller, and in response to such sensing, supply additional control signals which will control additional movement of the user in video game, that is, control additional movements of the user's avatar.

More specifically, in the embodiment where the controller looks like a gun, for example, the player could deliver an in-game, i.e., virtual, “butt stroke” or “bayonet thrust” of his weapon, (typically called “melee effects”) by quickly spinning/moving the controller in a similar real-world fashion. A quick forward motion would be translated by the game to indicate a stabbing/bayonet thrust effect.

In one embodiment, one motion sensor in addition to the main sensor that controls the avatar's point of view, is used to detect a forward or backward thrust, sometimes called a “surge” (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degrees_of freedom (mechanics)). Thus, to sense a “butt stroke”, for example, which is a combination of spin (yaw) and a backwards “surge”, the main and the surge sensors can be used, which would each provide a control signal to the video game computer, which computer would then interpolate both of these sensor control signals to create the desired in-game affect.

In accordance with a seventh improvement to a controller of the type noted above, and shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 which show left and right side views of the controller, a secondary “add-on” attachment is provided which includes redundant movement and function controls. As noted above, directional movement and some additional game input is controlled by the fingers of the left hand as they are wrapped around a forward barrel—mounted handgrip, or even on the side of the barrel itself (for instance if the embodiment took on the shape of a shotgun, in which there is no forward grip, the only place to put directional controls would be on the barrel, such that the left thumb and fingers can control directional movements and other input as the hand is cradling the barrel.)

In accordance with this improvement, there may be a second, redundant set of directional movement and game input controls mounted on an attachment to a portion of the primary controller. This attachment may take the form of, for example, a grenade launcher or a bayonet, configured such as they are typically affixed to a rifle.

The attachment may also have its own ‘shoot’ button. In this manner, the attachment will not interfere with blocking access to the main movement controls on the body of the controller while providing easy access to control switches as necessary. The additional shoot button may specifically enable operations and functions of the secondary attachment. As such, there will be two independent sets of shoot buttons—the primary set on the body of the controller, which itself incorporates a primary and secondary shoot button, and the secondary set on the additional weapon element.

In this manner, the player may be able to shoot two weapons at once, or in the case of a bayonet, shoot with the primary trigger on the main weapon shoot button, while ‘stab’ with the secondary shoot button on the attachment.

Additionally, there may be an input switch mounted on the attachment which is a secondary weapon selection switch, which may be linked specifically to the form of the attachment. For instance, if the attachment takes on the shape of a grenade launcher, the weapon selection switch on the attachment might control the type of grenade the player wishes to use depending on game play requirements, as some games utilize smoke, fragmentation, concussion, and other types of grenades. By linking the secondary weapon selection switch to the attachment the task of choosing the desired weapon is simplified. The primary weapon selector switch, as described in my forenoted original application, might then serve only to select among primary weapon choices, such as type of rifle.

In accordance with an eighth improvement described herein and shown in FIG. 10, an additional/auxiliary display is mounted to the body of the controller. In the above-noted US patent application, and again in my PCT patent application PCT/US2007/070369 filed Jun. 4, 2007, in one embodiment we describe a specific gun sight mounted to the controller which has an LCD display positioned therein so as to provide a continuous magnified game image to the user. Additionally, also shown in the forenoted PCT/US2007/070369, is an embodiment where instead of the user viewing the game image on the display of a computer monitor or game console, the primary display may be mounted on the controller, with or without the use of a further display for providing a magnified version of the same game image in a sighting device. In accordance with the present invention, at least two displays are provided on the body of the controller, where each display provides to the user a substantially different type of game image, that is, each display is responsive to a different video input signal. One input signal provides to a first display a game image having, for example, a first point of view of a scene in the video game, and a second input signal provides to the second display a game image having a second point of view of a scene in the video game, which scene can be a totally different or even unrelated scene.

Such second input signal might incorporate traditional data, which in the prior art typically is presented on the primary display, such as a map of the current game environment, text dialog between players, or similar data, which in the present invention is presented on the second display so as to free up more room on the primary display for actual game images.

Alternatively the second input signal may prevent images which incorporate a new feature set specifically relevant to the design and functionality of a rifle shaped controller, such as a rear or side view mirror like attachment, so the user can see the scene behind or to the side of him as well as in front of him. Additionally, the dual controller-mounted displays could be used with other types of game controllers, such as in combination with a “steering wheel” type of controller typically used for “driving” type video games. When incorporating the present invention with such a controller, the first display would typically be used to provide an image of the view in front of the vehicle being steered, and the second display could be used to provide a rear or side view image. Even furthermore, if for example a second type of controller, such as a gun shaped one, was being used with the “steering wheel” type of controller, the second display on the “steering wheel” type of controller could provide the game scenes applicable for the gun shaped controller. Although there are some prior art controller systems which use a dual display, they are of the type that put such dual displays on the desktop, and they therefore can not move in space with the controller.

Another use of an additional display is, for example, if a game were particularly tedious or tense, a small auxiliary game could be provided to enable a small distracting game to be played using the second display, so that the user could take out a minute and play a quick round of Pac Man. Alternatively, the second display could be used as needed during special circumstances, such as to control the positioning of a remote object in the video game space (such as a guided missile), while the main game images continue to run on the primary, first, display.

In accordance with a ninth improvement a track ball or touch pad is mounted to the body of the controller, such that track ball or touch pad can be operated by one or the other of the player's thumbs. This would allow increased input options for game functions such as running on an auxiliary monitor, positioning a remote object in space or scrolling through text messages from other players.

While the present invention has been disclosed with reference to certain embodiments, numerous modifications, alterations and changes to the described embodiments are possible without departing from the sphere and scope of the present invention. For example, the controller could be shaped like a heavy duty power drill or drill/hammer of the type having not only a rearward facing grip, but also a hand grip protruding at a right angle from the body of the drill. Such as shape may be desirable for reasons related, for example to “political correctness”, so as to thereby provide a First Person Shooter controller which does not look “so much like a gun”, yet would still have a shape which easily facilitates handling in a manner which allows the user to intuitively play a First Person Shooter game. In this case, it would still be advantageous that the controller shape facilitates ease of handling, maintains the general layout (such as left hand for activation of positional movement switches) and the same type of body stance useful for motion controlled aiming. Any shape would be usable which has the ability to put the player's hands in the correct stance to control pitch/yaw and maybe roll, as well as putting the fingers in the correct places to operate the various input switches of a First Person Shooter controller, yet such shapes may not appear to be “guns” if they look more like a power tool. With the above as a guide, other “non-gun-like” shapes could also be used effectively, including other weapons, such as a cross bow, in which one hand is normally placed underneath the bow for increased stability.

Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the described embodiments, but that it has the full scope defined by the above language as well as the claims which follow, and equivalents thereof. 

1. A control device for operation by a user for controlling a display of a computer system for use with a video game, the control device comprising: a housing having a shape adapted to be handled by a user of a video game; a first motion sensor included within said housing, said housing being adapted to be handled by the user for generating input information related to a vertical and a horizontal tilt of the control device; a second motion sensor included within said housing adapted to be handled by the user for generating input information related to roll movement about an axis of the control device; and a controller adapted to process the input information from the first provide to the computer system point of view information of an avatar in a video game virtual environment, and adapted to process said input information from the second sensor to provide to the computer system information representative of at least changes in an angular position of the avatar in the video game virtual environment. 